Here’s what you should know about getting a hip replacement after a serious injury.
What is a Hip Replacement?
Total hip arthroplasty, which is another name for hip replacement surgery, might be an option if hip pain is getting in the way of daily life and non-surgical treatments haven’t worked or aren’t working anymore. During hip replacement, a surgeon removes the damaged sections of the hip joint and replaces them with an artificial joint, also called a prosthesis, that is usually constructed of metal, ceramic and very hard plastic. This artificial joint can help reduce pain and improve function. Arthritis damage is the most common cause for hip surgery. Yet, injury can also cause a need for a hip replacement.
Why is a Hip Replacement Done?
There are many different reasons someone may need a hip replacement, which include:
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Osteonecrosis
- Persistent hip pain even with medication
- Worsening hip pain with walking
- Hip pain that interferes with sleep
- Hip pain that affects the ability to go up or down stairs
- Hip pain that makes it difficult for someone to stand up from a sitting position
When someone endures a serious injury to their hip, such as a hip fracture, from a car accident or other trauma, the necessity of a hip replacement depends on the severity of the injury. Some trauma injuries can be treated without a replacement, but it is common to replace the hip when there is just too much damage or pain in the hip joint after a serious injury.
What to Expect from a Hip Replacement
Either a spinal block, which numbs the lower half of your body or a general anesthetic will be given to you for your surgery. To help stop pain after surgery, your doctor might also inject a medicine that numbs nerves or the area around the joint. Here is what to expect:
During the Surgery
The surgery can be done in less than two hours. To replace a hip, the surgeon:
- Makes an incision through the layers of tissue over the hip
- Removes injured and damaged bone and cartilage, leaving healthy bone alone.
- Installs the new socket into the pelvic bone.
- A metal stem is put into the top of the thigh bone, and a new ball is put on top
After the Surgery
After surgery, you’ll spend a few hours in a recovery area while the effects of the anesthesia wear off. The medical staff will keep an eye on your blood pressure, pulse, level of alertness, level of pain or discomfort, and whether or not you need medicine. How long you stay in the hospital after surgery depends on what you need. Many people go home on the same day.
Hip Replacement Surgery Recovery FAQs
When it comes to getting better after surgery, especially a big one like a hip replacement, there are a lot of things to consider. How do you get ready? What kinds of problems can you expect? Will you need someone to help you? All of this needs to be planned out carefully by your care team, you, and your family. Below are some FAQs to consider when preparing for your hip replacement surgery:
How Much Pain Will I be in After Hip Replacement Surgery?
After a hip replacement, it is normal for the joint to swell and hurt at first. To help reduce pain:
- Between therapy sessions, give yourself time to rest
- Put ice on the leg and the incision site
- Talk to your doctor about taking anti-inflammatory medications to help with these symptoms
It’s important to keep an eye on how much pain you’re in. If you feel like your pain is always a 6 or higher on a scale from 1 to 10, tell your doctor. This could be a sign of an infection or another problem. As you keep doing physical therapy, your pain level should slowly go down to about 1 or 2 in 12 weeks after the hip replacement.
How Soon Does Therapy Start After the Hip Replacement?
Before hip replacement surgery, patients will go to physical therapy, and right after the surgery, they will work with a physical therapist to reinforce exercises before they go home. A few days after surgery, physical and occupational therapists will see the patient two to three times a week, and the patient will also do exercises at home.
Rehabilitation starts with getting used to regular movements and practicing daily tasks, like getting out of bed or a chair, and then moves on to harder tasks, like climbing stairs and getting in or out of a car. Strength in the muscles is a big part of being able to do these and other things. This is why one of the most important parts of rehabilitation is resistance training for the hip and knee muscles in the legs.
How Long is Recovery After a Hip Replacement?
On average, it takes about two to four weeks to recover from a hip replacement, but everyone is different. It depends on several things, like how active you were before your surgery, your age, what you eat, if you had any health problems before your surgery, and other health and lifestyle factors.
How Soon Can I Return to Normal After a Hip Replacement?
The goal of physical therapy is to get you back to your everyday life, whether that means going to work, playing with your kids, or doing your favorite sport or hobby. Depending on how much physical activity a task needs, it will take a different amount of time to be able to resume that task.
- Driving – If you have your right hip replaced, it may take up to a month to be able to drive safely again, however, if your left one is replaced, you could be driving within as little as a week or two
- Work – If you have a desk job with minimal activity, you can return to work in about two weeks, but if you have a job that requires heavy lifting or is very physical, it will be recommended to take off about six weeks to recover
- Sports – For sports with minimal activity, you can return when you are comfortable, but with high-impact sports, you should wait about six weeks to return to the game. A pool should be avoided for about six weeks until the incision is healed
How Long Will My Hip Replacement Last?
Modern hip prosthetics are made of a mix of metal, plastic, and ceramic parts. This makes them more durable and less likely to cause problems than older metal implants. These implants can last from 20 to 30 years, and there is a low chance that they will fail or need to be replaced again.
Reserve Your Appointment with the specialists at OSMC today. Or for more information, call us at (574) 264-0791.
OSMC joint replacement specialists are experienced experts in hip replacements. See here for the doctors.
This blog post is not intended to provide personal medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment to you or to any other individual. It is information for educational purposes only. You should not use this information in place of a consultation or the advice of a healthcare provider.
